Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | I'm a newbie with a question!

Hello, I'm new here! I can't say that I'm thrilled to be here. . .I'm sure you understand!

I've done a search on the boards but can't seem to find what I'm looking for. How long after you eat something does it take to "affect" you? Example, if I eat something and 15 min. later am having IBS, then it can't be that food, right? It would still be in my stomach not in my intestines. How long for food to reach the intestines? Last night I ate steak. I was fine all evening. This morning I decided to start the diet Heather recommends to break the cycle I'm in. So all I had this morning was a white dinner roll and water. A few hours later I had an awful IBS episode and was on the heating pad. So it probably wasn't the roll, but was the steak from 16 hours earlier?

Well, to introduce myself: I was diagnosed with IBS 15 years ago. After a year of hell, I got it under control by taking psyllium husk. Gradually the flare-ups got less intense and less frequent. Over the years since it has just been an infrequent, mild annoyance. I didn't always keep up with taking the psyllium husk...here and there. I ate whatever I wanted. Sometimes I'd have an attack a few times a year. There were some years I was totally symptom-free. Well, except for constipation....that's almost always a problem. But didn't have the severe abdominal pain/backache.

AND THEN WITHOUT WARNING THE IBS HAS REARED ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN AND IN A MAJOR WAY. About a month ago I started having mild IBS symptoms about 3 days a week. Then it became every day and the symptoms became more severe. I have 3 small children and it is hard to care for them when I'm laying on a heating pad! So I started searching the web knowing that there has been alot more research and awareness about IBS in the past 15 years. I found Heather's site and was shocked to learn that whole wheat can be a trigger. I thought whole wheat would be good because I knew that fiber was good for IBS. In the past six months, I've been eating more whole wheat than ever in my life because I've been trying to eat more healthy...fewer refined carbs.

Also, an interesting thing here...four months ago when my son was born, I quit dairy because it seemed to bother him (breatfeeding). In the past month I've been slowly adding dairy back into my diet. It has also been in the past month that my IBS symptoms have returned. I've never had problems with dairy in the past...as I said I've been IBS free for long periods of time and eaten lots of dairy. But a breastfeeding website that talks about dairy bothering alot of infants said to reintroduce the dairy gradually because it can wreak havoc on your bowels. I did add it gradually but it seems to have stirred up my IBS. What do ya'll think of this?

I've also learned that although I've been taking Fibercon daily for the past few months, I"m not taking nearly enough!

Also, on the strict diet to break the cycle of attacks, can I put anything at all on my potato and rice? WHat about soy butter?

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